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majority of the members insisted upon his retaining | where he took the oaths prescribed by the constituthe presidency, and required his presence at Bogota, tion, and resumed the functions belonging to his offito take the constitutional oaths. Before he came, cial station. To external appearance, therefore, Cohowever, they had passed a decree of general lombia was restored to tranquillity, under the rule of amnesty, a decree for assembling a national conven- her constitutional magistrates. But the nation was tion at Ocana, and a decree for re-establishing con- divided between two great parties, and agitated to stitutional order throughout Colombia. His arrival its centre by their opposite views of the political was hastened by unexpected events, touching him condition of the country. Bolivar had regained the personally, which had occurred in Peru and the personal confidence of the soldiers and officers of the southern departments. Not long after his departure third division, who expressed the deepest repentance from Lima, the returns of the electoral colleges for their distrust of his character, and their entire were received by the council of government, by devotion to his interests. But the republican party, which the Bolivian code was pronounced to be the and the friends of the constitution, with Santander constitution of Peru, and Bolivar the president for at their head, continued to regard his ascendancy life. The constitution was accordingly promulgated over the army, and his political movements, with unofficially, and was sworn to by the publick function- disguised and not unfounded apprehension, univeraries in Lima, December ninth, 1826, the anniver-sally accusing or suspecting him of a desire to emusary of the victory of Ayacucho. At this time the late the career of Napoleon. They looked to the Colombian auxiliary army in Peru, was cantoned in convention of Ocana, which was to assemble in 1828, three divisions, one stationed in Upper Peru, and for a decided expression of the will of the nation in two in Lower Peru, one of these at Arequipa and favour of the existing republican forms. The militaone at Lima. This third division consisted of veteran ry, on the other hand, did not conceal their conviccompanions of Bolivar's triumphs, and was com- tion that a stronger or more permanent form of govmanded by his personal friends, General Lara and ernment was necessary for the publick welfare, that Sands. Notwithstanding the attachment of these the people were unprepared for purely republican troops to Bolivar, they had lately been growing dis- institutions, and that the dictator ought to be intrusttrustful of his designs; and although they did not ed with discretionary power to administer the affairs feel disposed it would seem, to thwart his views of Colombia. upon Peru, they took alarm immediately, when they In 1828, Bolivar assumed the supreme power in saw cause to believe that he had similar views upon Colombia, by a decree, dated Bogota, August 27th, their own native Colombia. The consequence was which gave him authority to maintain peace at home, that, in the short space of six weeks after the new and to defend the country against foreign invasions, constitution was solemnly adopted, they came for- to have the command of the land and sea forces, to ward, and revolutionized the government of Peru. negociate with foreign powers, to make peace and So well were their measures taken, that, January declare war, to make treaties, to appoint the civil twenty-sixth, 1827, they arrested their general offi- and military officers, and to pass decrees and ordicers without any conflict or opposition, placed them-nances of every description. The decree provided, selves under the command of Bustamante, one of | however, that he should be assisted in the exercise their colonels, and announced to the inhabitants of of executive power by the council of ministers. Lima, that their sole object was to relieve the Peru- We have thus traced somewhat in detail the progvians from oppression, and to return home to pro-ress of this extraordinary individual, and it may be tect their own country against the alleged ambitious schemes of the dictator. The Peruvians immediately adjourned the Bolivian code, deposed Bolivar's council of ministers, and proceeded, in perfect freedom, to organize a provisional government for themselves.

Arrangements were speedily made, after this bloodless revolution was effected, to transport the third division to Guyaquil, according to their own desire. They embarked at Callao, and landed in the southern department of Colombia, part of them proceeding for Guyaquil, and part for Cuenca and Quito, uniformly declaring their object to be the restoration of constitutional order, in opposition to any designs upon the publick, entertained by the dictator. Intelligence of these events reached Bolivar, while he was still in the north of Colombia. Rousing himself instantly from his long-continued inactivity, he made preparations for marching to the other extremity of the republick and reducing the third division. But these troops, finding the government was in the hands of the regular national executive, had peaceably submitted to General Ovando, who was sent, by the constitutional authorities, for the purpose of taking the command. Bolivar meanwhile signified his consent to be qualified as president, and proceeded, with this intention, to Bogota,

enough to add that after his countrymen had again risen in arms against him, and again acknowledged their ingratitude to their liberator, he died at San Pedro, December 17, 1830. His political consistency, in times of the severest trial, and his undeviating patriotism, are the best eulogium to his memory: and South America will in future ages look to him as the regenerator of a land which only requires equal laws to render it the envy of most European states.

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POPULAR MEDICAL OBSERVATIONS.

If we consult the various works on diet, we meet with very different opinions as to the advantages and the disadvantages of eating fruit. This diversity of opinion has arisen chiefly from taking a narrow view of the question; from not sufficiently limiting the conditions under which the fruit should be eaten, and from not paying enough attention to the kind of fruit that should be allowed.

Fruits, and indeed acids of all kinds, are least likely to produce inconvenience, either directly on the stomach or bowels, or indirectly on the system, in hot weather and hot climates, than in cold weather and colder regions.

Fruits not having much acidity, nor much luscious sweetness, nor an undue proportion of watery juice, are decidedly the least likely to disagree with the stomach and bowels. Hence fruit should be perfectly, but not, as it is called, dead ripe. Hence also melons are by no means easy of digestion.

No dietetick rule is more important than thisthat the fewer articles the stomach has to act upon at a time, the more likely it is to be able to digest them. Hence all articles that are to be looked upon as being at all suspicious, as being in any degree likely to disagree, should be eaten alone, and not be mixed with other food. Now, most invalids, nearly all sufferers from indigestion, and many of the comparatively healthy, find that fruit does not always agree with them; that its digestion, either in the stomach or the bowels, sometimes occasions inconvenience, or uneasiness, or even pain. Let it, then, never be eaten after a meal, nor along with other heavy or strong food; but let it rather be eaten when the stomach is empty, when it has no other matters to require and distract its attention.

The more the stomach has had to do in a given time, the less will it be fitted for further work; and if to a certain point, and for a moderate time, it has been allowed to repose from its labours, it will be in a much fitter condition for the exercise of its powers. Hence many articles of diet are digested without inconvenience, when eaten in the morning, or in the earlier part of the day, that would by no means agree with the stomach if taken in the afterpart of the day, or in the evening. The best time for eating fruit is, therefore, for more reasons than one, in the morning or the forenoon-at breakfast, or between that meal and dinner.

But there is an essential thing still to be mentioned; one that can hardly be too much urged on the reader's attention. It is that the quantity eaten be moderate; be rather less than the stomach could take without inconvenience, than more than it could comfortably digest.

If these rules are strictly attended to, the others that have still to be mentioned, may be less heeded than would, a priori, be believed. Yet there are one or two other matters which are not without their value.

The skins and seeds are, for the most part, utterly indigestible; they undergo no alteration in their passage through the stomach and bowels, and, therefore, are often mechanical sources of irritation, and should never, or in very few instances, be eaten.

Descend

Those fruits the fibres of which are tender and soft, which contain an average, but not an excessive quantity of juice-which are neither very acid nor very sweet, but contain a due balancing of these two qualities, are the most likely to suit the stomach, and to be digested without inconvenience. Such a fruit is the strawberry, and the raspberry, and the orange, and the grape. An approach to such a fruit is the currant, and the gooseberry. Next to these. we should class the apricot, and the peach, and the nectarine; in these latter the fibres are tougher. As we descend in the scale of comparative digestibility to the apple and the pear, this increases. ing thence we come to the plum tribe; as plums, cherries, &c. In these the luscious, highly saccharine principle is objectionable; and, to increase the bad effects of this, the skin or rind is much more apt to be eaten than in any of the above-mentioned fruits. The whole nut tribe, possessing, as prominent features, hard fibres, and an oily matter with which all nuts abound, are most unwholesome, and can seldom be indulged in with absolute impunity; they should be strictly shunned by the invalid, or the man whose digestive powers are weak or disturbed. Nuts are rendered much more wholesome if eaten with salt: it stimulates the stomach into an effort sufficient to digest them.

Most fruits are rendered much more digestible by being cooked, whether stewed, or boiled, or baked. Many invalids cannot eat a raw apple without paying a penalty for the indulgence; yet they can eat, and are even benefited by a stewed or roasted apple. Fruit is, we think, most easily digested, if During sleep, the earlier stages of digestion are baked or roasted. Stewed fruits rank perhaps next much hurried, and the latter stages coming on pre-in point of digestibility; and then boiled fruits. The maturely, are performed imperfectly, and often with much inconvenience, and at times with no small disturbance to the system. Hence it is at no time more imprudent to eat fruit than at supper, or, worse still, just before going to bed.

drier the cooked fruit is eaten, the more likely will it be to agree with the stomach; it is therefore impolitick to make sirup to eat with the fruit, as is too often done. What are called teas, made from the acid or sub-acid fruits, as lemonade, orangeade, black currant tea, or apple tea, are, therefore, much more likely to disagree, than are the fruits them

well for the reader to remember the fact.

The greater the amount of actual vigour that the system possesses, the more easy and quick will be the digestion of food; the more exhausted the bod-selves. This is a practical remark, and it may be ily powers, the more likely an article of food will be to disagree. Hence the very worst time at which fruit can be eaten, is when the individual is fatigued -when the powers are exhausted--no matter how, whether by mental labour, or bodily exercise, or excessive heat.

By attending to these points, it will be found that many can eat fruit with impunity, and indeed without risk, who could not otherwise have done so.

It is, in general, as well to avoid as unwholesome, those fruits which require the addition of sugar to render them palatable; but, nevertheless, such fruits are much more digestible with a moderate quantity of sugar, than they would be without it. The watery fruits, if eaten at all, should always be taken with the addition of wine, in order to secure their digestion, or rather to render this more probable.

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A CHAPTER ON VOLCANOES.

[Cotopaxi.]

The above cut represents Cotopaxi, the most remarkable volcanick mountain of the Andes, in Quito. It is the most beautiful of the colossal summits of the Andes. It is a perfect cone, which, being covered with an enormous layer of snow, shines with dazzling splendour at the setting of the sun, and stands forth in bold relief from the azure heavens. This covering of snow conceals from the eye of the observer even the smallest inequalities of the ground. No point or mass of rock penetrates the coating of snow and ice, or breaks the exact regularity of the conical figure. The crater is surrounded by a small circular wall, which, when viewed through a telescope, appears like a parapet. Its height above the sea, is 18,891 feet. It is the most tremendous volcano in Quito, and its explosions have been most disastrous, spreading destruction over the surrounding plains. Remarkable eruptions took place in 1698, 1738, 1742, 1744, 1766, and 1768; and one in 1803. In 1698, the eruption destroyed the city of Tacunga, with three fourths of its inhabitants, and other settlements. In 1738, the flames rose nearly 3000 feet above the brink of the crater; and in 1744, its roarings were heard as far as Honda, on the Magdalena. With respect to the explosion of 1803, Humboldt observes: "At the port of Guayaquil, fiftytwo leagues distant, in a straight line, from the crater, we heard, day and night, the noise of this volcano, like continued discharges of a battery; and we distinguished these tremendous sounds even on the Pacifick ocean." In viewing this vano, every

thing contributes to give it a most awful character. The pyramidal summits of Illinissa; the snowy ridges of the other mountains; the singular regularity of the inferiour line of snow, and the luxuriance of the great plains, offer an unparalleled assemblage of the grand and picturesque features of nature. Humboldt found it difficult to ascend the mountain, in 1802, as far as to the limit of perpetual snow, and he pronounces it impossible, by any human art, to reach the summit. It is thirty miles S. S. E. of Quito, and is situated to the N. Ñ. E. of Chimborazo.

In that extremely valuable and interesting number of the Harpers' Family Library, entitled, The Earth, by W. M. Higgins, we find the following remarks on volcanoes: :

It is said that there are not more than three volcanoes which are in a state of permanent activity: that of Stromboli, one of the Lipari isles; the Devil's Mouth, in the Lake of Nicaragua; and that in the isle of Bourbon.

Stromboli has been in a state of constant activity for more than two thousand years, and is a good type of this class. Lava seldom overflows its crater, but large masses of burning rocks and scoria are incessantly ejected in a perpendicular direction. This phenomenon, accompanied by a loud explosion, occurs every seven or eight minutes, of which fact we are informed by Pliny, as well as by modern travellers.

Dolomieu examined this interesting mountain, and has given the following description of its eruptions:"The inflamed crater is on the northwestern part of the isle, on the side of the mountain. I saw it dart

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In the island of Volcano there is a crater which at some former period must have been active, and still emits gaseous vapours, which prove the continued existence of the volcanick cause. "The operations of this volcano," says Dr. Daubeny, "exhibit perhaps the nearest approximation to a state of activity during which descent into the crater would have been practicable.

during the night, at regular intervals of seven or eight minutes, ignited stones, which rose to the height of more than a hundred feet, forming rays a little divergent, but of which the greater quantity fell back into the crater, while others rolled even to the sea." On the following day he ascended an eminence above the crater, from which he obtained a still more interesting view. "The crater," he says, "is very small; I do not think it exceeds fifty paces in diam- "Nor can I imagine a spectacle of more solemn eter, having the form of a funnel terminating in a grandeur than that presented in its interiour, or conpoint. During all the time I observed it, the erup-ceive a spot better calculated to excite, in a supertions succeeded with the same regularity as during the preceding night. The approach of the eruption is not announced by any noise or dull murmur in the interiour of the mountain, and it is always with surprise that one sees the stones darted into the air. There are times when the eruption is more precipitate and violent, and stones describing more divergent rays are thrown into the sea at a considerable

distance."

It has been stated by Dolomieu, Hamilton, and Scrope, on the authority of the islanders, that during the winter season, the eruptions are far more violent than in summer, and that atmospherick changes may be generally predicted from the appearance of the crater. Sometimes during the storms of winter the cone is split, and large currents of lava are discharged.

[Island of Volcano.j

stitious age, that religious awe which caused the island to be considered sacred to Vulcan, and the various caverns below as the peculiar residence of the gods."

THE PHASE OF PAROXYSMAL VIOLENCE.

The phase of paroxysmal violence, or, as it is usually called, long intermittences, is characterized by lengthened periods of repose, followed by violent, though transient eruptions. Baron Humboldt has stated that lofty volcanoes are always in this state. The volcanick mountains of the Andes have not, generally speaking, an eruption more than once in a century: and the peak of Teneriffe, which was active in 1798, had not at that time been disturbed for ninety-two years. It must not, however, be supposed, that this volcanick condition is confined to elevated craters, for the histories of other mountains give abundant instances to the contrary.

The phenomena which accompany eruption are nearly the same in all cases; varying in intensity, and consequently in the violence of their effects. In some cases the phenomena and the effects are confined to the immediate neighbourhood of the excited mountain; while in other instances, and it is gener ally the case when the mountain is in the phase of paroxysmal intensity, the effects are felt for many miles round the active cone. The explosions of Cotopaxi have been heard at a distance of six hundred miles.

The activity of a volcano generally commences with a loud detonation, which is succeeded by others

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less loud, and the escape of aeriform fluids. Large tion which happened at this time, was during the fragments of rock and masses of lava are usually night of the twelfth of June, when a severe shock projected by these discharges, some of which fall of earthquake was felt at Naples, and over the surback into the crater and are redischarged, until they rounding country. Nothing more occurred to rouse are reduced to powder, and mingle with the surround- the fears of the inhabitants till the evening of the ing atmosphere of heated vapour. The accumulation fifteenth, when the earth was again violently agitaof these particles produces the appearance of dense ted. Shortly after this, an opening was formed on clouds of smoke, which are almost invariably seen to the western base of the mountain-cone, which, on surround the summit of the crater. after examination, was found to be two thousand, three hundred and seventy-five feet in length, and two hundred and thirty-seven feet in breadth, and a stream of lava was ejected. Not long after the volcanick action had commenced, four distinct hills were formed, composed of lava, from each of which, stones and other ignited substances were thrown in such quick succession, that it appeared as if they were each ejecting a vast flame of fire. At this time, the lava flowed in great abundance, taking its course towards Portici and Resina. The inhabitants of Torre del Greco, rejoiced to see a prospect of their escape from the destroying fluid, were assembled together to return thanks for their deliverance, and to supplicate for their unfortunate neighbours, when they received the melancholy tidings, that the lava had changed its direction, and was approaching their town. In flowing down a declivity, it had divided itself into three streams; one directing its course towards St. Maria del Pagliano, another towards Resina, and a third toward La Torre.

The lava then rises to the vent of the mountain, and finds an egress from the crater, or from some lateral opening. In some cases, however, scoria alone are projected. During the day, the lava is generally hidden by the aqueous vapours which arise from it, but at night it appears of a glowing heat. While the lava continues to flow, the detonations are frequently less violent: but there is no proof of the diminution of the paroxysm until the mountain ceases to eject; and even then peace is not immediately restored, for scoria and masses of rock are often thrown out for some time after the dreadful crisis is past.

When the detonations become less frequent, rumbling sounds are heard, as the retreat of mighty waters; and the mountain seems gradually to yield to exhaustion, or sinks into a state of partial rest, occasionally disturbed by explosions, and the ejection of scoria. Towards the conclusion of an eruption, that is, after the lava has ceased to flow, the surrounding country is frequently enveloped in dark clouds of black-coloured sand, or a white comminuted pumice.

The lofty mountains seldom eject lava from their summits, but from lateral openings; for it requires far less power to open a passage in the side of the mountain, than to elevate the intumescent mass to the summit. In the last eruption of Teneriffe, a lateral opening was formed; and, according to a calculation by M. Daubuisson, it would have required a force equivalent to a thousand atmospheres, to raise a mass of lava to the elevated crater of the mountain.

We may now adduce a few examples of activity in the phase of paroxysmal violence; and the difficulty is not to find a characteristick type, but to choose from the many authenticated and interesting details, that are to be found in the page of philosophical records.

Vesuvius was in this phase in the year 1794. The first proof of the approach of the dreadful erup

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During the whole of this time, the mountain was greatly convulsed, and deep hollow sounds were heard, which, together with the impetuous ejection of the lava, shook the mountain itself to the very base. When the oscillatory motion of the mountain ceased, the sounds became less frequent but more distinct; the lava flowed more abundantly, and the action seemed as though it were suffering under the last paroxysm of its dying energies. This was about four o'clock in the morning of the sixteenth, and at that time the intumescent mass had spread itself through all the streets of Torre del Greco, and from thence had flowed into the sea, covering its bed three hundred and sixty-two feet beyond the margin of the water, the current having a breadth of eleven hundred and twenty-seven feet. The distance from the point of ejection to the place where its progress was arrested, was twelve thousand, nine hundred and sixty-one feet.

During the progress of the eruption, the summit of Vesuvius was perfectly quiescent, and no remarkable phenomenon was observed round the crater. But towards the dawn of day, the heights of the mountain were hidden by a dense cloud of comminuted sand, which, spreading itself, in a short time covered the whole country, and the sun was darkened by an impenetrable mantle of clouds.

It is impossible to describe the horrours of that night, in which Vesuvius poured out its terrible fury on the beautiful valley beneath it. The fiery ejections and the inexpressible groans of the mountain," the deathlike stillness of the atmosphere, and the cries of the thousands who had been driven from their homes and all the pleasures of life, must together have presented a combination of terrours. terrours which no imagination can realize.

But, it was not on the western side only that lava was ejected; there was an active crater on the eastern; and the stream which flowed from it filled the

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